Jason, Axiom has done testing in the past with various brands of AVR's in combination with the M80's. Denon, HK, SN, to name a few, have had no issues at any levels. This is why they encourage people to look at those brands.
On the flip side, any receiver will drive the m80's. However, some may go into protect mode sooner than others, depending on how hard your driving the speakers.
Personally, I don't think all receivers are made the same, they are not apples to apples. Design and engineering quality does vary, just like anything else in life.
I do believe the last few year offerings from Yamaha and Onkyo have improved and people have less issues.
